I honestly have no idea what you're talking about about the giant dog charging out of the open garage?

One of the two incidents that you're claiming is causing "negative perception" of my breed and particularly causing you to be "wary of Pit Bulls." It seemed to me that your first thought was to think of the APBT negatively, but not the other dog/breed, or its irresponsible owner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurelin

I was just trying to illustrate two things 1) that DA/dog on dog attacks can cause pit bulls bad press or cause people to be more wary of the breeds. People seemed to be saying that a pit bull attacking another dog wouldn't cause an issue?

I never said it wouldn't cause an issue. I said more likely than not, an unleashed dog running up to a leashed Pit Bull and being attacked would not be heard about (and, frankly, shouldn't be), whereas if a person ran up to a HA Pit Bull and was attacked, it would be a headline.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurelin

2) DA means you have to manage that dog very closely. And if the management goes wrong then sometimes the consequences are also very bad and dangerous.

Nobody ever claimed otherwise.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Laurelin

I feel like you're trying to twist that into something it wasn't meant to be.

Nope, just responding to what it seems like you were saying. It's not really my fault if other people aren't clear in their intentions.

I honestly have no idea what you're talking about about the giant dog charging out of the open garage?

I was just trying to illustrate two things 1) that DA/dog on dog attacks can cause pit bulls bad press or cause people to be more wary of the breeds. People seemed to be saying that a pit bull attacking another dog wouldn't cause an issue? 2) DA means you have to manage that dog very closely. And if the management goes wrong then sometimes the consequences are also very bad and dangerous.

I don't have a problem with bully breeds or sighthounds (in fact I used to really want a sighthound and may still consider a whippet one day) but I DO think you need to be as responsible as possible when dealing with dogs with high prey drive or with dog aggression OR with a guardy temperament or a fearful dog...

I think I must've messed up the way I was explaining things or something? Anyways, I am bowing out. That was all I was trying to say and I feel like you're trying to twist that into something it wasn't meant to be.

It seems as though seven sins does that with a lot of people's posts.

Anyway if the dog in the OP's siggy is the one in question, he doesn't really look like a bully to me, maybe a bully mix? But to me he looks more like some kind of hound mix.

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Any dog killing, injuring or maiming any other dog, no matter the circumstance (and PARTICULARLY if the dog that causes injury is a high profile breed) will cause negative press because I can GUARANTEE you the story will be told with a different twist by every party involved - innocent owner, guilty owner and bystanders.

Everyone will have their own version of events and I highly doubt anyone will walk away not having something to say about the high profile breed dog. Personally I think a dog attack towards a leashed dog is totally unpredictable, and often unavoidable, but EVEN SO, the crap thing is it will have shock waves. You can't be blasť about it.

I do agree that I would be far more stressed owning a HA dog than a DA dog, as I see more humans in my life than dogs, and situations where dogs are present are far more manageable to me than ones where humans are present. For ME in my life.

I'd rather not own either DA or HA dogs though!!!!

Can't advise on the op really.... I think I'd be questioning if I was the right owner for the dog tbh.

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"Dogs are our link to paradise. They do not know jealousy or discontent. To sit with a dog on a hillside on a glorious afternoon is to be back in Eden, where doing nothing wasn't boring, it was peace."

Bodhi is the opposite of ignorance, the insight into reality which destroys mental afflictions and brings peace.

One of the two incidents that you're claiming is causing "negative perception" of my breed and particularly causing you to be "wary of Pit Bulls." It seemed to me that your first thought was to think of the APBT negatively, but not the other dog/breed, or its irresponsible owner.

I said I'm wary based on my experiences. I said nothing about your instance at all. And it's true, I'm sorry. If my dogs are around and I don't know the pit bull owner well then I'm pretty darn wary. There are a couple other breeds I'm a little extra wary about too also based on experience.

We had a GSDx growing up that had issues with other dogs to say the least. He sent two dogs to the emergency vet and both times was on our property. However, I look back and think once the first incident happened, they probably should've been more proactive about keeping a repeat from happening. The second dog was a golden who was walking off leash and ran up to play and our dog gave him an injury needing 60 stitches. Now, should the golden have been off leash and running amok? No, but our dog severely overreacted in my opinion. The golden owner actually admitted fault but that's a lot of liability with a dog that would lay into another like that over a dog just coming over to say hi. It's not something I'd want to manage... which was my attempted point. I'd much rather deal with the dog that snapped when you groomed them or snapped when you grabbed the collar. My lifestyle means my dogs are taken with me a lot of very dog-centric places. It just wouldn't work.

Hell I'll pull APBTs completely out of the equation and use Laurelin's currently non-existent sighthound as an example.

You're walking your sighthound on leash. Suddenly, a small off-leash dog runs past yours. Your dog snatches it up and kills it. Do you think that this is a "problem" with your dog or whichever sighthound breed it is? Should people be striving to breed this trait out? Do you think it does or should cause a negative view of the breed? Should your dog be euthanized or medicated because of this? Or do you chalk it up to your dog possessing a breed trait and someone else being an idiot, but it's not your fault the incident happened?

Same question, but replace "small dog" with "child" and we'll assume that the dog "only" bit the kid in the face but didn't actually kill it.

I think that this is a case that could go either way. What the op needs to do is talk to a behaviorist, and then take a very hard look at things. Clearly the situation as it is has become dangerous. There have been multiple bites that are escalating. That leaves 2 options.
1). Op euthanizes the dog. This way everyones safety is gaurenteed, but leaves the op devastated and wondering what if.
2)op works with the dog, who may or may not ever be safe. They may live a happy life together, or he may bite someone else and be pts. There's no way of knowing.

The situation ks complicated by the living arrangements. Roomates not only mean themselves, but their visitos/family/friends coming over. It only takes one mistake.

Op, I think you're in a tough spot. To me, either choice could be correct. I love my Gambit, but living with a dog with his issues can be exhausting. Do you want to spend the next 10 or 12 or 15 years always watching and advocating? Only you can know when its too much.

I know the joy and the heartbreak of a dog like yours, though not quite as severe, so I would stand behind whatever you choose. I euthed one ha dog, and I kept the other. Both choices came down to me in the end, since I was the one living with it.

I wish you peace with whatever you choose.

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Booty Dancing In Heaven 10/13/03-9/15/12As much as I try to be one of those easygoing 'spread your wings and fly' types, I just can't stop trying to burst people into flames with my mind.

The way I see it, if your dog has a history of unprovoked bites on people and you choose to keep it around, it's not just your safety you're choosing to gamble no matter how many precautions you take.

But again, this dog doesn't have a history of unprovoked bites? The dog seems to have some body/restraint issues and possible response to punishment/restraint (being "shown" his urine accident) but if I get bitten by a dog once for grabbing its collar, then I grab its collar again later without working on touch sensitivity or being reached for... that isn't an unprovoked bite, surely?

If that is the expectation for this dog (that it should tolerate something it has shown it doesn't tolerate in the past without the issue actually being addressed as far as I can tell) then I agree it's probably not the best household and the decision in this situation would seem to be obvious. And I wouldn't necessarily fault someone for making that decision in their own individual circumstances... especially here where there are apparently roommates who don't really seem to fully grasp the situation.

But I honestly don't understand why this particular dog is being lumped in with dogs who bite "unprovoked?"